


Beautifully Fierce

by Skjalla



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Loss of Virginity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:33:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26682991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skjalla/pseuds/Skjalla
Summary: He pulled himself up straight and met her eye, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. "You're right, o'course. Forgive me. It's just," he faltered, opened his mouth and closed it again, then made a helpless gesture into the air, "You're so...""Weird?" she offered jokingly when he didn't finish his sentence. "Stubborn? Big-mouthed?""No," Erend rasped, his steel blue eyes gleaming with equal parts alcohol and affection. "You're beautifully fierce, and fiercely beautiful."
Relationships: Aloy/Erend (Horizon: Zero Dawn)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 75





	Beautifully Fierce

Something has changed, Aloy can tell. She senses the differences, subtle as they may be. The way his fingers fist in her untamed mass of hair, holding her firmly in place while his mouth devours her own. The way his breathing deepens, a low-pitched moan already catching in his throat. There is an urgency to his touch, a sort of demand he'd been holding back, but can't anymore now. 

She understands, of course, because she feels the same.

~*~

On the day Erend had returned to Meridian from the Claim, where he'd laid his sister to rest, Aloy had sought him out. She had missed him and was not ashamed to admit it – After all, Erend himself had never made an effort to hide his interest in her.

When they first met – a lifetime ago, before the Proving – she may have found his advances cocky and uncalled for (which they were, of course). But during the time they had spent together since, fighting side by side, she had learned to respect him; trust him, even. He became a friend, a confidante, as well as a guidance in this foreign world she still struggled to find her footing in.

It was Erend who answered her unending stream of questions about the Carja, the Oseram, their religion and history, about all the goings-on in the world and everything that Rost had been unable or unwilling to teach her. 

It was Erend who showed her which of the city's taverns served food suitable for a Nora's stomach – roasted meat and hearty stews rather than the sickeningly sweet fruit and pungent fish rolls they all seemed to prefer here.

It was Erend who appeared on her doorstep one day, unsolicited, with a bundle of furs tucked under his arm to replace the silken sheets she loathed to sleep in. The Sun-King had been kind enough to provide her free lodging in Upper Meridian, and Aloy appreciated it, but still it felt like a gilded cage. All the expensive drapes and finery – it made her homesick, and she had no idea how that was even possible; she had no home to be sick for, after all.

It warmed her heart that Erend had not only sensed her discomfort, but had also gone out of his way to ease it. To make her feel less like an outsider. He cared for her, that much was obvious, and for all her lack of experience with men – the way Erend's gaze sometimes lingered on her lips had not escaped her notice.

She'd missed him, and when she finally found him at the tavern that night, his face broke into a smile so wide and so warm and so genuine, she was sure he'd missed her, too.

Later that same night, he kissed her for the first time, in a quiet side street, surrounded only by the flickering oil lamps of nocturnal Meridian. Erend was sweet, almost shy, at first, his lips barely grazing her own. But when Aloy responded by leaning into him and touching her fingertips to his neck, his restraint seemed to snap like a dry twig beneath the feet of a raging Behemoth. In an instant, he had her backed up against the nearest stone wall, his tongue delving into her mouth and his gloved hands roaming hungrily across her body.

She was stunned for a moment, then tried to go along with it, slightly tilting her head and mirroring the movements of his mouth with her own. The feeling was unfamiliar, for sure, but not unpleasant, and she enjoyed the warm, throbbing sensation it sparked in her core.

It was only when Erend roughly groped her breast and something hard prodded her thigh that she pushed him away, gently, with her palm flat on his chest. It was all too much, too fast – she needed a minute to catch up.

Erend's forehead dropped onto her shoulder and he gave a pained sigh. "I'm sorry," he slurred close to her ear, his breath heavy with ale.

"Don't be," she replied softly. Her hand wandered to the back of his neck, caressing him there, holding him close. Aloy had never been one to shy away from uncharted territory, no matter how daunting it may seem at first. "I want this, I do. I just..." 

She trailed off then, not knowing how to put it into words, how to spell it out for him that social interaction was still so very novel to her, that she had lived a life in total isolation and felt like it had only been five minutes since people finally stopped treating her like some kind of infectious disease.

Finally, she said, "Erend, you're intoxicated, and I'm... inexperienced. Maybe that's not such a good combination." 

She felt him nod against her shoulder before he pulled himself up straight and met her eye, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. "You're right, o'course. Forgive me. It's just," he faltered, opened his mouth and closed it again, then made a helpless gesture into the air, "You're so..."

"Weird?" she offered jokingly when he didn't finish his sentence. "Stubborn? Big-mouthed?"

"No," Erend rasped, his steel blue eyes gleaming with equal parts alcohol and affection. "You're beautifully fierce, and fiercely beautiful."

Any clever retort she may have come up with got stuck in her throat at this. She had expected more drunken sass and half-sarcastic flirtations, but Erend had uttered those words with such heartfelt sincerity, it made her stomach drop down into her boots.

Blushing despite herself, she let his observation hang heavy in the air between them while she took his arm and gently steered him in the direction of his quarters.

~*~

A week or two have passed since then, and they have made good use of it. Once Erend had regained sobriety, he was still passionate, but at the same time careful not to overwhelm her. 

His desire remained obvious, and sometimes Aloy felt a twinge of guilt for making it so hard on him. Still, she was grateful that he had adjusted to her pace rather than rushing her into the experience.

When he spent himself into her hand for the first time, groaning and panting and twitching desperately beneath her, she trembled in his arms for minutes afterward with the thrill and adrenaline of it.

The fact she could do this to him... Erend Vanguardsman, this fearless warrior, all hard muscle and boasting confidence, this mountain of a man who'd take down an angry Sawtooth with a single smash of his hammer and not even break a sweat – this force of nature, reduced to a quivering mess by the mere touch of her hands. It was exhilarating.

He'd given her the time she needed to grow accustomed to his body while concurrently teaching her a thing or two about her own.

Today is different, though. He wants – needs – all of her this time, and Aloy has no objections.

The bedroom is mostly cast in shadow and the windows have been closed to shut out any noise from the street down below. Only a few candles illuminate the dark, shining a soft glow on their half-naked bodies.

Aloy's head falls back against the pillows as Erend's mouth descends, slowly, down her neck and to her breasts. Their shirts have long been discarded to the floor, leaving them both in nothing but a pair of soft woolen pants. She sighs and arches up into him, pressing her chest even harder against his lips.

"Mmm, fuck, Aloy," he rumbles quietly, and when he shifts back up her body to assault her mouth once more, she can feel his hardness pressing heavily into her thigh.

He's not particularly gentle, but it's fine, she doesn't need him to be.

"Eager today, are we?" she chuckles and runs a hand along his face, enjoying the way his beard tickles her palm.

He grins at that, and suddenly he looks so much younger, his cheeks flushed with arousal and the slightest bit of nerves flickering in his eyes. "Can you blame me, though?"

It's not actually a question, of course. But when his hands remain unmoving and his eyes keep searching her face, it finally dawns on her what he is really asking. He wants permission.

Their gazes still firmly locked, she reaches down between their bodies, taking hold of her pants and carefully shimmying out of them before kicking the unneeded piece of clothing unceremoniously onto the floor.

When Erend still seems to hesitate for a moment, she wriggles around a bit until he's nestled right between her legs with his groin flush against her center.

That finally sets him in motion. 

He pulls almost frantically at his own pants with one hand while still holding himself up with the other, trying not to crush her. She helps, and as soon as the fabric is out of their way, she feels the blunt head of him nudging her, right _there_ , and it's almost what she wants, but still not nearly enough.

The gentle throbbing deep inside of her has surged into such a violent ache, it's becoming impossible to bear.

Aloy longs to tell him then how much she needs him; she, who has never needed nor wanted anyone. She wants to say out loud how much she wishes in this moment that she could just abandon her mission to stay right here, in his arms, for all eternity, and screw the Old Ones and their stupid fucking machines.

"Erend," is all she manages as he takes himself in hand and slowly rubs against her, coating himself in her wetness. Her arms lock around his shoulders and she feels him shake with the effort it takes to not drive into her in one swift motion.

 _It doesn't even hurt,_ she muses to herself when the smooth head finally breaches her, and the harsh groans falling from his lips shoot right down to her core, pooling there like molten iron.

She wants to hear more of it, wants him to stop holding back and just take his pleasure from her body, so she lightly rakes her fingernails down his back, then up his butt cheeks, and sure enough, Erend _snaps_.

His lower half drives all the way into hers, retreating somewhat before promptly thrusting back in, and – _Oh, there's the pain._

Her eyes screw shut and she holds onto him as his body heaves and shudders above her. Eventually, he slows down a bit when he begins to find a rhythm, the stuttering of his hips evolving into a sensual rocking motion, and Aloy gulps in a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

It stops Erend dead in his movements and he stares at her, the sheer shock about his loss of control written clear all over his face.

"Don't stop," she says, and she doesn't really know why because the pain is still there, a dull and burning sensation, but at the same time her body still _wants_.

"I'm hurting you," Erend grinds out through gritted teeth, and it's the truth, but she shakes her head in denial.

"No, it's fine." Leaning up, she bumps her forehead against his and he closes his eyes, still breathing raggedly.

"It's fine," she repeats and forces her thighs to relax, easing them further apart and opening herself up for him. One of her hands remains on his face while the other glides down to the small of his back, pushing gently, urging him on.

"Ngh shit, Aloy, I can't," he chokes out and slowly, carefully starts moving again, "I can't stop myself if you keep doing this..."

"Don't stop," she tells him again and catches his lips in a ferocious kiss that soon has them both gasping for air.

"Don't stop," she pleads a third time and he complies, but his thrusts remain shallow and steady for now. Aloy's eyes slip shut and she focuses on her breathing, calming herself like she would do right before a fight – crouched in the underbrush, bow in hand and arrow nocked.

Meanwhile, Erend distracts himself by letting his hands travel all across her body, soothing and caressing her over-sensitive skin. Her freckles receive some special attention and a feather-light kiss is placed on every single one within his reach. He handles her with a tenderness that most people might not think him capable of and Aloy's heart swells at the thought.

Finally the pain begins to subside and a sweet, pulsating ache is all that remains. When Erend pushes in the next time, she instinctively raises her hips to meet him halfway.

He seems to register the change of mood and flashes her a tentative smile. "Feel better now?"

She hums quietly in response and hooks one of her legs around his waist, pulling him in even closer. 

"Good," he whispers while brushing his nose softly along her neck, "Lemme try something else then."

Sliding both palms beneath her shoulders, he holds her tightly to his chest and suddenly rolls them around on the bed, coming to rest on his back with Aloy in his lap, their bodies still joined and their faces mere inches apart.

Before she can voice any protest, he kisses her again, his hands trailing down her body and settling on her hips. While their kiss gradually deepens, he gently encourages her to move, and so she does. 

Her initial hesitation soon falls away as she finds her balance, straightening up and bracing her hands on his muscular chest. Every time she descends, his hips rise up to meet her and at this new angle, it almost knocks the breath from her lungs.

They fall into a rhythm that sets Aloy's entire being aflame. The feeling of him so deep inside of her is unlike anything she could have imagined – strange and foreign and so _wonderful_. She is dimly aware of the wild moans tumbling from her lips and the way her legs are beginning to shake.

Her head tilts back then and she picks up the pace even more, chasing her release now, her braids dancing on her shoulders while Erend stares up at her with his mouth hanging half open. 

Just as Aloy feels her insides begin to tighten, he suddenly surges up into a sitting position, clutching her at the waist and pushing her down into his lap as hard as possible. A violent shudder runs through his body and she buries her hands in his hair, holding him close while he rides out his climax.

Aloy is still on fire, though, and of no mind to stop. She tries rocking her hips some more, but when Erend softens and slips out of her, she reaches down with her hand instead. Her fingertips find the place where she's most sensitive, rubbing it frantically and she cries out at the much needed contact.

Erend's gaze darts over her with a breathless “Huh” and then he flips them again, Aloy now flat on her back and he propped up on one arm alongside.

Her next moan comes out almost like a sob as three thick, long fingers dive into her, rough and unrelenting and All-Mother save her, it's just what she needs. Tensing up and shaking uncontrollably, she tumbles right over the edge. White-hot pleasure races down her spine and then explodes into a blazing heat that washes over her like an ocean of electric shock waves. 

Aloy shudders through it, completely overpowered by the sheer intensity. 

When she eventually comes back down from her high, she's coiled tightly in Erend's arms – limp and utterly sated, still trembling a little from the aftershocks. 

She presses her ear to his chest, listening to his heartbeat and thinking that she has never felt so calm, so at peace, not once in her entire life.

For the second time that night, she longs to tell Erend how much she needs him – she, who has never needed nor wanted anyone. But before her mouth can begin to form the words, they have both already drifted off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you'd like to stay a moment longer, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.


End file.
